Comparing Donald Trump To Presidents of the Past

My kids are pretty young, so they don’t have many strong memories of Barack Obama or his speeches. They have nobody to whom they can compare Donald Trump and his presidency. So his speeches and Twitter feed are their current understanding of what a President does and how he/she should behave.

In listening to all these soundbites, I find myself recalling speeches by Reagan, Clinton, and others and ultimately feeling inspired or hopeful even if I didn’t agree with their policies. Former Presidents typically spoke with conviction and were articulate.

The current breed of politics is a cesspool lacking dignity, respect, or authenticity.

I know many past leaders have made regrettable comments and have made poor personal decisions. But I believe as a nation we have finally hit a new low.

We have become immune to Trump’s rhetoric and lack of moral authority. And I guess it speaks to how divided a nation we have become. I knew we were divided, but I never expected the things Trump says would be accepted by our country and surprisingly, by a large number of Christians. I can’t fathom this fact.

As a little refresher, let’s take a look at some former Presidents and their quotes and see how they stack up against the words of Trump.

Quotes from Other Presidents

Quotes By Our Current President, Donald Trump

“…Only if you’ve been in the deepest valley can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain…”

—Richard Nixon (1969-1974)

“You know, it doesn’t really matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of *ss.”

—Esquire – 1991

“Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for ’tis better to be alone than in bad company.”

—George Washington

“You have to treat ’em [women] like sh*t.”

—New York (magazine)

“When angry, count to ten, before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.”

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

—John Quincy Adams

“Well, I think that she’s got a lot of Marla [Maples, Trump’s second wife], she’s a really beautiful baby, and she’s got Marla’s legs. We don’t know whether she’s got this part yet [gestures toward own chest], but time will tell…”

“We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions — bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality. Whoever seeks to set one nationality against another, seeks to degrade all nationalities.”

—Franklin Roosevelt

“People want me to [run for president] all the time … I don’t like it. Can you imagine how controversial I’d be? You think about [Bill Clinton] and the women. How about me with the women? Can you imagine?”

“As powerful as our memories are, our dreams must be even stronger. For when our memories outweigh our dreams, we become old.”

—Bill Clinton

“When somebody is proven to be dishonest, really harsh punishment has to take place.”

—Hardball with Chris Matthews (15 July 2002), as quoted in The World According to Trump (2005) by Ken Lawrence, p. 23

There are no quotes that are even comparable to this.

“I did try and f*ck her. She was married. I moved on her like a b*tch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. I’ve gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know, I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything… Grab ’em by the p*ssy. You can do anything.

In Conclusion…

The current state of political and cultural affairs makes me sad not just for our country but especially for our children. The only place kids usually were exposed to such language would have been on a reality show. Trump’s speech is now their normal and has made America into his reality show.

Ultimately, I fear we could lose a generation of leaders with nobody in political leadership inspiring our youth. Or hopefully, kids will remember the vacuum of leadership in which they were raised and be inspired to take America back.